Over 350 Dead in Syria’s Sweida Amid Rising Violence

More than 350 people have been killed since the weekend in violent clashes in Syria’s southern Sweida province, a war monitor reported on Thursday, updating an earlier death toll.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, fighting that began on Sunday has resulted in the deaths of 79 Druze fighters and 55 civilians. Among the civilian casualties, 27 were reportedly victims of summary executions carried out by members of the defence and interior ministries. Additionally, 189 personnel from the defence and interior ministries and 18 Bedouin fighters have also lost their lives.

The Observatory identified one of the victims in Sweida as Hassan al-Zaabi, a media worker. The Syrian journalists’ union issued a statement saying Zaabi was shot dead by “outlaw gangs” while carrying out his professional duties, though they did not specify his employer.

The Britain-based monitor, which gathers information from a network of sources inside Syria, also reported that Israeli strikes in southern Syria killed 15 personnel from the defence and interior ministries.